Architecture sights in Prague
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Astronomical Clock
Ironically, if you wish to tell the time in the Old Town Sq, it's easier to look at the clock above this, because this 1490 mechanical marvel is tricky to decipher. The clock's creator, Master Hanuš, was allegedly blinded so he could not duplicate the clock elsewhere, although this is undoubtedly a myth.
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Church of Our Lady Before Týn
The distinctive, spiky-topped Týn Church is early Gothic, though it takes some imagination to visualise the original in its entirety because it’s partly hidden behind the four-storey Týn School (not a Habsburg plot to obscure this 15th-century Hussite stronghold, but almost contemporaneous with it). The church’s name originates from the Týn Courtyard behind the church. Though Gothic on the outside, the church’s interior is smothered in heavy baroque. Two of the most interesting features are the huge rococo altar on the northern wall and the tomb of Tycho Brahe, the Danish astronomerwhowasone of Rudolf II’s most illustrious ‘consultants’ (he died in 1601 of a burs…
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St Vitus Cathedral
At first glance the western façade of St Vitus Cathedral, which looms above the entrance to the Third Courtyard of Prague Castle, appears impressively Gothic, but in fact the triple doorway dates only from 1953, one of the last parts of the church to be completed. The cathedral’s foundation stone was laid in 1344 by Emperor Charles IV, on the site of a 10th-century Romanesque rotunda built by Duke Wenceslas. Charles’ original architect, Matthias of Arras (Matyáš z Arrasu), began work in 1344 on the choir in the French Gothic style, but died eight years later. His German successor, Peter Parler – a veteran of Cologne’s cathedral – completed most of the eastern part of the …
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Karolinum
Central Europe’s oldest university, founded by Charles IV in 1348, was originally housed in the so-called Rotlev House. With Protestantism and Czech nationalism on the rise, the reforming preacher Jan Hus became Charles University’s rector in 1402 and soon persuaded Wenceslas IV to slash the voting rights of the university’s German students – thousands of them left Bohemia when this was announced. The facilities of the ever-expanding university were concentrated here in 1611, and by the 18th century the old burgher’s house had grown into a sizeable complex known as the Karolinum. After the Battle of Bílá Hora (1620) it was handed over to the Jesuits, who gave it a baroque…
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Church of Our Lady of the Snows
The most sublime attraction in the neighbourhood is this Gothic church at the northern end of Wenceslas Square. It was begun in the 14th century by Charles IV but only the chancel was ever completed, which accounts for its proportions – seemingly taller than it is long. Charles had intended it to be the grandest church in Prague; the nave is higher than that of St Vitus Cathedral, and the altar is the city’s tallest. It was a Hussite stronghold, ringing with the sermons of Jan Želivský, who led the 1419 defenestration that touched off the Hussite Wars. The church is approached through an arch in the Austrian Cultural Institute on Jungmannovo náměstí, but you can get a …
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Brick Gate
At the 19th-century Brick Gate, on the northern side of Vyšehrad, you can see an exhibit explaining the history of Vyšehrad and Prague’s other fortifications. Here you will also find the entrance to the Casemates (adult/child 30/20Kč), a system of vaulted brick tunnels beneath the ramparts. The largest of these is the barrel-vaulted Gorlice Hall, which served as an air-raid shelter and potato store during WWII. It now houses six of the original baroque statues from Charles Bridge, including St Ludmila with the Young St Wenceslas by Matthias Braun (the other originals are in the Lapidárium), as well as temporary art exhibitions in summer. The Casemates ticket also gi…
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Church of the Assumption of the Virgin Mary & Charlemagne
At the southern end of Ke Karlovu is a little church with a big name, founded by Charles IV in 1350 and modelled on Charlemagne’s burial chapel in Aachen. In the 16th century it acquired its fabulous ribbed vault, the revolutionary unsupported span of which was attributed by some to witchcraft. From the terrace beyond the church you can see some of Nové Město’s original fortifications, and look out towards ancient Vyšehrad and the modern Nusle Bridge (Nuselský most), which vaults across the valley of the Botič creek, with six lanes of traffic on top and the metro inside.
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St Nicholas Church
The baroque wedding cake in the northwestern corner of Old Town Square is the Church of St Nicholas, built in the 1730s by Kilian Dientzenhofer (not to be confused with at least two other St Nicholas churches in Prague, including the Dientzenhofers’ masterwork in Malá Strana). Considerable grandeur has been worked into a very tight space; originally the church was wedged behind the Old Town Hall’s northern wing (destroyed in 1945). Chamber concerts are often held beneath its stucco decorations, a visually splendid (though acoustically mediocre) setting.
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House at the Three Fiddles
Following the tourist crowds downhill from Prague Castle via Ke Hradu will bring you to Nerudova, architecturally the most important street in Malá Strana; most of its old Renaissance façades were ‘baroquefied’ in the 18th century. (It’s named after the Czech poet Jan Neruda, who was famous for his short stories, Tales of Malá Strana.) Most of the buildings bear house signs. The House at the Three Fiddles, a Gothic building rebuilt in Renaissance style during the 17th century, once belonged to a family of violin makers.
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Prague Main Train Station
What? The train station is actually a tourist attraction? Perhaps not all of it, but it’s worth going to the top floor for a look at the grimy, soot-blackened splendour of the original Art Nouveau building designed by Josef Fanta and built between 1901 and 1909. The domed interior is adorned with a mosaic of two nubile ladies, the words Praga: mater urbium (Prague, Mother of Cities) and the date ‘28.října r:1918’ (28 October 1918, Czechoslovakia’s Independence Day).
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Villa Müller
Fans of functionalist architecture will enjoy this masterpiece of domestic design. It was built in 1930 for construction entrepreneur František Müller, and designed by the Viennese architect Adolf Loos, whose clean-cut, ultramodernist exterior contrasts with the polished wood, leather and oriental rugs of the classically decorated interior. The villa can be visited only by guided tour, which must be booked in advance; tours begin every two hours from 9am April to October, from 10am November to March.
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Church of Our Lady of Unceasing Succour
Following the tourist crowds downhill from Prague Castle via Ke Hradu will bring you to Nerudova, architecturally the most important street in Malá Strana; most of its old Renaissance façades were ‘baroquefied’ in the 18th century. (It’s named after the Czech poet Jan Neruda, who was famous for his short stories, Tales of Malá Strana.) The baroque Church of Our Lady of Unceasing Succour was a theatre from 1834 to 1837, and staged Czech plays during the Czech National Revival.
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House of the Golden Horseshoe
Following the tourist crowds downhill from Prague Castle via Ke Hradu will bring you to Nerudova, architecturally the most important street in Malá Strana; most of its old Renaissance façades were ‘baroquefied’ in the 18th century. (It’s named after the Czech poet Jan Neruda, who was famous for his short stories, Tales of Malá Strana.) The House of the Golden Horseshoe is named after the relief of St Wenceslas above the doorway – his horse was said to be shod with gold.
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Nový Svět Quarter
In the 16th century, houses were built for castle staff in an enclave of curving cobblestone streets down the slope north of the Loreta. Today these diminutive cottages have been restored and painted in pastel shades, making the 'New World' quarter a perfect alternative to the castle's crowded Golden Lane. Danish astronomer Tycho Brahe lived at No 1 Kapucínská. Globally renowned animator and filmmaker Jan Švankmajer resides at No 5 Černínská.
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Nerudova
Malá Strana's main thoroughfare plunges steeply downhill from the castle to Malostranské náměstí. Today it's lined with touristy restaurants and shops but you can still admire the 'baroque-ified' Renaissance façades and ornate old house signs. Casanova and Mozart shared lodgings in 1791 at No 33, Bretfeldský Palace. Czech writer Jan Neruda, after whom the street takes its current name, lived at No 47, At the Two Suns (1845-57).
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House of the Two Suns
Following the tourist crowds downhill from Prague Castle via Ke Hradu will bring you to Nerudova, architecturally the most important street in Malá Strana; most of its old Renaissance façades were ‘baroquefied’ in the 18th century. It’s named after the Czech poet Jan Neruda (famous for his short stories, Tales of Malá Strana ), who lived at the House of the Two Suns from 1845 to 1857.
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Tunnel
In 2002 an arty tunnel - red-brick and rather Freudian - was completed by architect Josef Pleskot beneath the castle's Powder Bridge, making a quirky alternative exit route from the castle. Turn west from the bridge's castle side and follow the footpath down into the moat to reach it. If you keep going, you'll reach Malostranská metro.
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Gothic Cellar
The restored Gothic cellars that once lay beneath Charles IV’s palace (now gone) house an exhibition dedicated to the history and legend of Vyšehrad. It is packed with archaeological finds and religious relics associated with life on the fortress from 3800 BC until the present day.
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Spanish Synagogue
The Spanish Synagogue is named after its striking Moorish interior. Dating from 1868, its exhibit continues the story of the Jews in the Czech Republic from emancipation to the present day. It's one of the six Jewish monuments that make up the Prague Jewish Museum.
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Jubilee Synagogue
The colourful Moorish façade of the Jubilee Synagogue, also called the Velká synagóga (Great Synagogue), dates from 1906. Note the names of the donors on the stained-glass windows, and the grand organ above the entrance.
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Jewish Town Hall
Next to the Old-New Synagogue, this town hall was built by Jewish Ghetto mayor Mordechai Maisel in 1586. It's worth noting for its clock tower, which has one Hebrew face where the hands run 'backwards' like Hebrew script.
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